Killer Instinct

Chapter XII

XII.

Our meeting took place in downtown Tokyo, in the towering Henry Corporations building, on the top floor.

The elevator ride had been long and awkward; Misha was making a good impression of a statue, and I kept playing with the split ends of my hair, desperate to the pounding of my heart, and the memory of what had happened last night.

I couldn't understand why he would do things like save my life, proclaim me savior of the world, and then tell me that I'm a child and could possibly never interest him, then continue to do conflicting things like kiss me while I had false memories of a fake relationship, and then kiss me after the fact, and apologize for it.

It was infuriating, and I felt as if there were something someone wasn't telling me; something that Misha or my father had completely left out. Something that would change everything once I knew the answer.

"Isley," James Henry greeted me with a smile, shaking my hand as we stepped into the conference room. "I take it your transition as a double-agent has gone smoothly."

I tilted my head, itching to read his mind, something I had never had the urge to do before.

"Smooth enough." I conceded, glancing to my left. Apollo Henry stood behind his father's shoulder, a lazy smirk on his face, dressed in a casual suit, his emerald green eyes sparkling with intelligence and power. He was as handsome and arrogant as ever, much to my dismay.

"You said you would enjoy what came next," I told him in a low, predatory voice. "And to take what you were doing personal."

Apollo's eyes lightened with amusement. "Oh, so you remember?" He chuckled. "I must admit, I enjoyed smacking you around a lot more than I planned. We must do that again, sometime."

I laughed lightly, determined to not let my temper get the best of me. "Just remember what we talked about. I'm sure you have a firm understanding of what I'm about, and what I plan to do if things don't go as planned."

"I admire a girl with contingency plans." Apollo volleyed back easily. "Just rest assured that we've made a few of our own."

"You've made plans that counter the immeasurable power of a universal mental?" I arched a brow at him. "I doubt they're sufficient. And I doubt you can stop me."

"We have no desire to stop you." James Henry interjected. "We are united by the same goal of dismantling the MIA, and the annihilation of Douglas Spielman."

"As long as you hold up your end of the bargain, I'm sure that is exactly what will happen." I smiled a threatening smile.

"Isley." Misha gripped my elbow painfully. "Shut up."

"Let go of me, Lancelot." I hissed under my breath, yanking my arm away.

"Problem?" Apollo asked, not missing a second of our exchange.

"None." I said firmly. "Except, I have a question. There's something you aren't telling me." I looked into James Henry's eyes. "Something that doesn't quite add up. I'm prepared to walk away from this entire operation right now, unless you read me in."

Surprise registered in James Henry's eyes.

"Why would you believe there was something we weren't telling you?" He asked, sounding genuinely curious and astounded.

"Well, let's see. Your overly familiar double agent over here, acts as if he's known me my entire life, while I've only known him for four days." I paused. "The fact that those false memories you implanted in me weren't false memories at all. False memories disappear once the trigger is set off. Those memories haven't disappeared. You actually had memories retrieved deep from my subconscious, memories that actually had taken place."